Lightning Strike Leaves Otoxha Family Homeless
A single lightning strike reportedly left a family of five without a home in Otoxha Village. During Sunday morning’s severe thunderstorm, lightning reportedly struck the thatch house of forty-eight-year-old Alejandro Ack, sparking a fire that destroyed the building and nearly everything his family owned. Ack, his wife and their three children escaped without injury, but they are now without shelter and need help rebuilding their lives. Their neighbor, Olario Ical, is coordinating donations for the family.
On the Phone: Olario Ical, Neighbor of Fire Victims
“When I woke up and I heard it. I heard screaming and I heard like shouting. So I went quickly, I went quickly to my window to see what happened and I saw nothing. So I quickly opened my door and came on the veranda. That’s when I see the fire and I saw it’s for him, it is his house and his wife was screaming, the children was screaming and they were asking for help. And I quickly went and it’s in the night and everything was clear because the fire lit everything and the house was already on fire. She was trying to wake up her husband, but he couldn’t hear. So she had to go shake them in the hammock and shake the children because I think the thunder did something to them I think and he had difficulty waking them up and then when they woke up now, the house was already on fire. So they just quickly got out and people like, it was already sleeping. So it was hard to get the people out. So when most of the villagers reached to help, the house was already covered in fire and they couldn’t rescue anything.”
Britney Gordon
“Okay, at this time, what kind of donations are they prioritizing the most?”
On the Phone: Olario Ical
“And like clothing, food items, and I think the villagers will be doing the shelter at the house. They will reveal him one, but it’s like, maybe financial food items and clothing.”
Anyone wishing to assist can contact Alejandro Ack via WhatsApp at 502-4503-9281.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
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